Dish-washing machine



B. S. WHEELER. I

DISH WASHING MACHINE.

No. 266,935. v Patented 0013.31, 1882.

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DISH WASHING MACHINE.

No. 266,935. Patented Oct. 31, 1882.

N. PUERS. Fhalrvliihugnphlr. Wahingicn. D. C.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BETSEY S. WHEELER, OF NORTH WAUWATOSA, WISCONSIN.

DISH-,WASHINGQ MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 266,935, dated October31, 1882,

Application filed July 26, 1882. (No model.)

North Wauwatosa, in the county of Milwaukee,

and in the State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Dish- Washing Machines; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to dish-washing machines and their cabinets, andwill be fully described hereinafter.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my cabinet with thedish-washer exposed, also in perspective. Fig. 2 is a detail of aportion of the dish-washer, and Fig. 3 is a front view of the cabinetwith doors open and exposing the washing mechanism.

A is the cabinet, which, when closed, has the appearance of an ordinarybook-case, in that the base, which forms its lower half, is about twiceas deep as the remaining upright portion, forming a ledge in front ofthe upright portion, in which I provide a basin, B, having lids B, thatare hinged, so that each can open toward an end of the basin. When theselids are open they are supported by brackets 11, that are sufficientlylong to relieve the hinges from strain, but short enough to permit thelids to slant away from the machine, for a purpose to be explainedhereinafter. Back of the basin one half of the upright portion A of thecabinet is provided from top to bottom with suitable shelving, a, whilethe other half, with half of the base, contains the dish-washingmechanism, which is constructed as follows:

r O, is the base of the machine, which is provided with a crank-shaft,c, on which is a pulley, c, and a fly-wheel, D. The shaft 0 is operatedby a lever or treadle, or by any other suitablepower. The pulley oisconnected with a crank-pulley, d, by a belt, 01, and between thesepulleys c and (Z, I hang an adjustable tightener, 61 for regulating thetension of the belt 01 and changing thedirection. The wristpin f of thecrank-pulley is connected by a pit- Inan-rod, F, with the crank g of ashaft, G, that has its bearings in a yoke, H, that is bifurcated fromfront to rear, and one of the arms of which swings on the shaft k, thatcarries pulley d, while the other end swings on a pivot in bracket K. Abracket, K, supports one end ofshaft it, while its other end is seatedin the wall of the cabinet, as shown at e. A sleeved rod, m, thatprojects from one arm to the other ofyoke H, forms a fulcrum for pitmanF, which is slotted at f to receive it, and therefore, when this pitmanF is reciprocated, it will revolve the shaft G. Each end ofthesha-t'tGhas a squared opening in it to receive the shank of a gripper,

which is designed to grasp a rag or sponge, G.

The gripper designed for use in cleaning plates is marked M, and isshown in perspective in the detail view, Fig. 2. It consists of twojaws, preferably provided with teeth m, as shown. The shank M of one jawcrosses andis pimted t0 the shank M of the otherjaw, and both shanks areso bent that when a strip of sponge, G, or rag is placed between thejaws and the latter closed the shanks will'lie parallel to each other,and will fit within the described squared opening in one end of theshaft G, there to be secured by a set-screw, g.

The gripper N for the cup'sponge consists merely of two curved fingersto be thrust into the sponge, and hold it by action similar to that of apair of scissors, and whose shanks are similar in construction to thoseofthe grippers M,just described, and are adapted to be similarly securedwithin the squared opening in the other end ofthe shaftG by anotherset-screw 9.

From the top of the pitman F, and near its inner end, is projectedupward an arm, 0, having a short rod, 0, pivoted at a right anglethereto, and to the other end of this rod there is connected the end ofa bent lever, O, which lever is pivoted to a lug, h, on one arm of theyoke H by a pin, P, that passes through a slot, 0, in said lever, and togive a degree of elasticity to the lever 0, I propose to interposeaspring, q, between the lever and the nut q on the end of pin P, which,while it will have a constant tendency to force the lever O toward thepitman F, will yet permit the two to be drawn apart. The free end of thelever 0 is provided with a hub having a squared opening and set-screwfor holding another gripper M and sponge G, which is held opposite thegripper and sponge M G on the right-hand end of the crankshaft G,already described, yet with the lines of the opposing sponges crossingeach other, rather than parallel, as shown clearly in Fig. 1.

The yoke H swings, as before stated, on its bearings K and 7c, and toguide and sustain it in its adjustments at different heights as required(or when turned back upright within the upper part of the case, as shownin Fig." 3,) I secure a standard, L, to the rear of the basin B. Theupper portion of this standard is curved to correspond to the arc inwhich the yoke H swings, and is bound to the yoke by a plate or loop,p,that forms a rigid part ot'the said yoke, and hence permits the yoke toslide freely in the arc of a circle on the said standard, and to besecured in any desired adjustment by a setscrew, p.

By reason of the lever O and its gripper and sponge,located oppositethegripperand sponge on the right-hand end ofthe crank-shaft G, I amenabled to wash thoroughly both sides of a dish or plate at once, thesaid dish or plate being held between the opposing sponges,

while if the interior of a cup, pitcher, or bowl is to be cleansedthesaid dish is held so that the cup-sponge G on the gripper N on thelefthand end of the crank-shaft G will be in side of the dish, and thusrapidly cleanse it. I propose, also, to have a handle provided with asquared socket and set-screw in one end, so

that when desired Ican remove either one of the grippers M or thegripper N from the shaft G and insert the'shanks of said gripper intothe socket in the said handle and fasten by the setscrew, so that I maythus have an efficient hand implement for cleaning any unusual orpeculiarly shaped dish.

My device might be constructed without the lever 0; but in such caseonly one side of a plate or dish could be washed at once, and hence Iprefer ordinarily the construction herein shown. Similarly my device isadapted to be operated by other power than the treadle illustrated inFig. 3, and the operating-shaft might extend through the side of thecabinet and have a belt-wheel, crank, or other attachment for running mydevice by power or hand, if desired, as indicated in dotted lines inFig. 3, especially when in use in large restaurants or hotels; but itwill work satisfactorily by the means shown with only a single operatorto supply power and hold the dishes against the sponges at the sametime.

In Fig. l I have shown dotted lines to represent the location of anordinary dish-pan, which is to be filled with very hot water--so hotthat it would be impossible to bear the hand in it--and after the dirtydishes have been a short time in this hot'water the operator will liftone of them up, and,holding it with a cloth, if still too warm tohandle, and place it either against, around, or between the appropriatesponge or sponges, and so instantly cleanse it.

As before stated, the lids B of my cabinet slant downward from each endof the sink or basin B. The object of this is to drain off any waterremaining on the dishes after they are washed. The water used is so hotthat it quickly evaporates from the dishes, which are placed upon clothslaid on the floor of these lids, the slant of which drains otf any waternot evaporated by the heat of the dishes, and thus the labor of wipingthe dishes is reduced to a minimum, even when required at all. Thisdownward slant is accomplished by securing the lids and basin togetherby thick hinges b, so that the bolts or jointsofthe hinges will liebetween the top edges of the said basin and the adjacent edges of thelids, when open, and thus force the then inverted top inner edges of thelids in against the sides of the cabinet.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a dish-washing machine, the yoke H and pitman F, in combinationwith the lever O, crank-shaft G, grippers M M, and mechanism foractuating these parts, substantfly as set forth.

2. In a combined dish-washing machine and cabinet, the combination ofthe basin B with the downwardly-slanting draining-lids B, connectedtogether by the thick hinges b, at-

tached so that the bolts or joints of the hinges will lie between thetop edges of the said basin and the adjacentedges ofthe lids, whenopened, and thereby force the then inverted top inner edges of the lidsin against the sides of the cabinet, as shown and described, and for thepurpose set forth.

3. In a dish-washing machine, the combination of the yoke H, pitman F,and crank-shaft G, and operating mechanism with the gripper M, havingjaws provided with teeth m for securing a sponge or rag between them,and pivoted shanks M M substantially as set forth.

4. In a dish-washing machine, the combination of the pulley d, wrist-pinf, yoke H, rod m, crank-shaft G g, and pitman F, having slot f,substantially as set forth, and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of the pulley d, wristpin f, yoke H, rod m,crank-shaft G g, and

slotted pitinan' Ff with the arm 0, rod 0, bent and slotted lever O 0,and sponge-grippers M M, substantially as set forth, and for the purposedescribed. 6. The combination of the yoke H, having lug h, with theslotted pitman Ff, rod m, crank-shaft G g, grippers M M, andactuatingpulley and Wrist-pin, and the bent and slotted lever O 0,connected to the pitman F, and the pin P, spring q, and nut q,substantially as set forth,-and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, onthis 26th day of June, I882, in the presence of two witnesses.

BE'ISEY S. WHEELER.

Witnesses:

HAROLD G. UNDERWOOD, 0.13. STORY.

